Folding chair.



C. PFANSCHMIDT.

FOLDlNG CHAIR. APPLICATION FILED AUG.13. 191s.

1,288,67U. Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

IIIT

CHARLES PFANSCHMIDT, OF CHICAGO, ILLIN'GIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THEO. A. KOCHS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented Dec. 2 1, 1918.

Application filed August 13. 1918. Serial No. 249,634.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES PFAN; SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Chairs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Folding transportable chairs designed for use by barbers have heretofore been employed but such chairs, as ordinarily constructed, have not been provided with an adjustable back that permitted the barber to place his customer in the usual reclining position for shaving, and consequently the shaving operation has been performed in such chairs with the back thereof in the same position that it occupies during a haircutt-ing operation thus rendering the shaving more difficult for the barber and compelling the customer to assume an uncomfortable attitude. It is the object of my invention to provide a chair of the kind referred to with a hinged back and with means under control of the attendant for turning said back to cause it to assume an inclined position or a substantially vertical position and readily and firmly lock it in either of such positions, and at the same time not interfere in any way with the folding of the chair as usual for purposes of transportation or storage. This object I accomplish by the means shown in the drawing and hereinafter particularly described. That which I believe to be new will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a folding barbers-chair provided with my improvements;

Fig. 2 frame of the chair and showing my improvements applied thereto-the parts constituting such improvements being shown in plan, except at the left-hand side of the chair where one part is in section;

Fig. 3 is a View partly in side elevation and partly in section of my improved devices,the section being taken at line of Fig. 2; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the detachable interengaging means for the front end of each chair-arm and the support therefor that rises from one of the legs of the chair.

is a cross-section through the back-v inga Referring to the several figures of the drawings, 101l indicate two pairs of supporting legs, the legs of each pair crossing each other and being pivoted together at 12. At the upper ends of the legs are transverse pieces to which is suitably secured a heavy piece of canvas or other flexible material 13 constituting the chair seat. let-14 indicate two uprights each pivoted as at 15 to one of the legs 10 and in the front edge of each upright 14 is formed a slot 16 that is enlarged at its inner end, as indicated by 17. 18-18 indicate the arms of the chair, each arm having secured to its under face near its forward end a yoke 19 in the lower depending ends of which is secured a crossbolt 20 of a size and shape to enter the slot 16 and rest in the lower portion of the enlarged portion 17 thereof. The back of the chair is preferably shown as comprising side bars 21 to the inner faces of which are secured two other bars :22 to which latter bars the side edges of a flexible covering 23 are nailed, the central portion of such covering passing down and around the lower cross-bar (not shown), and the upper edges of such covering being secured to an upper cross-bar 24, upon which cross-bar the usual head rest, indicated by 25, is adjustably mounted. The seat back is hingedly attached to the legs 11 by hinges 26 secured to the rear edges of such legs and the members 21 of the back frame. The lower end of each side bar and the upper end of its ad jacent leg is squared as shown so that when the seat back is in raised position, as in full lines in Fig. 1, the seat back will be solidly supported upon the upper ends of the legs 11. .27 indicates a rock-shaft passing through the seat back members 21 and 22 and journaled in such members and projectshort distance beyond the surfaces of the said members 21. Made fast to each of such projecting ends so as to be rocked with the shaft is a link 28 that extends to the rear of the chair back when such chair back is in its elevated position. 29 indicates two arms, each formed as shown of a flat niece of steel, the forward end of which is secured by screws or otherwise against the under face of one of the chair arms 18. Such arm 29 is twisted so that its rear portion lies with its fiat face alongside of the outer face of the adjacent side bar 21 of the chair frame such arm 29 being above the projecting end of the rock shaft 27. The rear end of the arm 29 is pivoted at 30 to the end of the adjacent link 28. 31 indicates a deep notch in the lower edge of each arm 29 of a size and shape to adapt it to receive the rock-shaft. At one of its endspreferaloly at the right hand side of the chair-the rockshaft is turned at a right angle to form an operating handle indicated by 32.

When the chair back is in its upright position the arms 29 will have their respective notches 31 engaging the projecting ends of the rock-shaft, and thus the chair back as a whole will be securely locked against turning on its hinges. When, however, the operator Wishes to incline the chair back in order to put it in a position better adapted for shaving a customer the chair back is released from its locked position by a turning forwardof the handle 32, which causes a rocking of the shaft 27, and as the links 28 are rigidly connected with such shaft they Wlll necessarily turn upwardly and forwardly and thus raise the notched arms out of engagement with the shaft, and when such arms are so released from the shaft the back can be turned to its inclined position by a continued rocking of the shaft through the handle or by the pressure exerted by the customer in the chair; Inasmuch as the arms 29 are rigid with their respective chair arms it is necessary, of course, that the forward ends of such chair arms be pivotally attached in place vin order to allow the up and down swing that they are given when the connect ing link 28 is turned with the shaft, and this necessary pivoting is secured through the loose connection of the chair arms afforded by the bolts 21 of the yokes 19 turning in their respective enlargments 17 of the slots 16. Inasmuch as the links 28 assume a substantially horizontal position in either adjusted position of the chair back the chair arms will be maintained in asubstantially horizontal position in both of the adjusted positions of such chair back.

In Fig. -l I have shown a folding foot rest, indicated generally by 33, but as such rest may be of any usual construction and forms no part of my present invention I do not deem it necessary to give a detailed description of its construction and attachment to the chair proper.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A chair comprising in combination a supporting frame, a back frame hinged thereto, a chair-arm, means for pivotally supporting such arm at its forward end, a link pivotally mounted at one side of the back-frame, a device attached to said chairarm and projecting rearwardly alongside of the chair-back and pivotally connected to said link, and means projecting laterally from the back-frame adapted to interlock wit-hsaid device on the chair-arm.

2. A chair comprising in combination a supporting frame, a back-frame hinged thereto, chair-arms pivotally supported at their forward ends, a transverse rock-shaft carried by said back-frame and projecting beyond the sides of the back-frame, links fixedly connected to said rock-shaft, and de vices pivotally attached at their rear ends to said links and fastened at their forward ends to-the two chair-arms, respectively, said devices each having a notch to engage one of the projecting ends of the rock-shaft.

3. A folding chair comprising in combination a supporting frame consisting of two pairs of legs, the legs of each pair crossing each other and pivoted together, a backframe resting at its lower edge upon the tops of said legs when the chair-back is in upright position, a hinged connection between said supporting frame and backfra-me, a pivoted upright rising from the front portion of the supporting frame, a chair-arm pivotally connected near its front end to said upright, a link pivotally mounted at one side of the back-frame, a device attached to said chairarm and projecting rearwardly alongside of the chair-back and pivotally connected to said link, and means projecting laterally from the back-frame adapted tointerlock with said device on the chair-a=rm.

CHARLES PFANS GHM'IDT.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0." 

